Teamwork
by LapsusStili
Summary: A day of departmental fun leaves some of our friends in a sticky situation. Slight GSR. My first Unbound Challenge Response and first fanfic.


Rating: T (mild language)

Spoilers: None

Disclaimers: If I had my way, these characters, which belong to the folks over at CBS, would all be my best friends. How cool would _that_ be?

Author's Note: Written in response to the Unbound Challenge from 23 Aug 2005.

**Teamwork**

_by Lapsus Stili_

"**Put your back into it."**

As their team leader, Grissom was only trying to provide encouragement from his anchor position at the end of the rope. Unfortunately, this comment only managed to ruffle their feathers instead, as was evident from the four distinct glares that were now directed his way from over their shoulders.

The third annual LVPD Tug-of-War tournament was on, and the five-man nightshift crew were, at this moment, facing off against the team of lab technicians. Nick, having the most lower-body strength, was their first puller, closest to the center marker on the rope. The lanky Warrick was next, allowing his long legs to provide powerful leverage. At a mere 5'6", Miss Willows took up the middle spot, perhaps not the most physical of her colleagues, but certainly a determined force. Sara was positioned next both for her extra height and the surprising strength that her lithe frame disguised, at least that's how Grissom justified things when the placements were decided. The fact that it placed her directly in front of him was an added bonus that he wisely kept to himself.

"Ok, we're all leaning back on a 45-degree angle here - just how much more of our backs would you like us to put into it, Gris?" Sara griped, her feet slipping a bit, almost landing her on her butt.

The only response she got sounded suspiciously like a "Grrr", so she dropped the subject, heaving again on the taut rope with renewed force, fueled by her frustrations with the man.

Nick, a little red in the face, piped up with his own strained question, "What in tarnations have they been feedin' them lab rats, anyhow?"

From the middle of the opposing team, Greg popped his head out to the side with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"What's wrong, Nicky? Surprised that you can't beat a bunch of geeks?" he quipped, then immediately dug his feet a little further into the ground against the sudden lurch forward.

They were virtually at a stalemate. For almost ten minutes the center judge, played by Doc Robbins, had the boring job of watching the red bandana that marked the mid-line waver only a few inches back and forth over the white line painted on the ground. He yawned, not for the first time this round, while grunts and groans of effort came at him in stereo.

His assistant, David, was acting as the chief judge for the competition. He was keeping close track of the time, aware that if something more substantial didn't happen in the next couple of minutes, he'd have to call a "No Pull", and re-start the already tired teams on a new round.

At that moment, Grissom's shoes slid out from under him, sending him flat on his keister. The sudden downward tug brought both Sara and Catherine down with him, the love of his life pretty much in his lap, while Catherine wound up down on one knee just off to the right. This left the two lads up front to support the strain from both directions now. Nick whimpered.

In their scramble to get back up, Sara let go of the rope with one hand, bracing herself on the first solid thing she came in contact with to push off of - which just happened to be the nicely muscled leg of her supervisor.

"Uh, sorry Grissom…"

"That's quite alright," he said softly, surprised that he still had the power of speech after her hand had just slid oh so smoothly along his thigh. _Oh my God!_

A wail of, "Aw crap! I just broke a damn nail!" floated up from the commotion as they all regained their footing.

"Cry me a river, Cath," Warrick growled with no sympathy whatsoever, "I'm pretty sure that there's almost no skin left on either of my palms at this point."

Despite the temporary spillage of the CSI members, they lost little ground in the competition. The other team probably could've taken better advantage had Jacqui not burst out laughing at the sight before her, which in turn gave Mia a case of the giggles too. Archie was not impressed.

Out of the corner of his eye, David noticed that there was something odd about the way that Hodges, the trace tech, was clinging to the rope. It appeared rather stiff, almost unnatural that angle at which his fingers lay along the rope, no matter whether his group was pulling back or being jerked forwards. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that Greg and Archie also had the same bizarre grip.

"Are your hands glued to the rope?" he blurted incredulously and rather loudly.

The silent, wide-eyed response from all three of the males on the opposing team was answer enough for all present. Everyone froze. It was a truly comical scene to see the faces of the entire nightshift squad all slacken in shock, along with those of the two female tech's who were apparently out of the loop on the whole plot. As if on cue, the CSI's all released their holds on the rope simultaneously, sending the entire bunch of lab tech's flying into a heap.

While most of his team were rubbing their sore arms, grumbling about the lack of sportsmanship, Grissom hung back with a ghost of a smile playing about his lips. On noticing that her boss seemed unbothered by this trickery, Sara just shook her head at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe those guys were cheating, and moreover, I can't believe you don't even care!" she complained, then turned away and continued, "Man, we fell in the muck trying to beat them!"

_Oh, it was definitely my pleasure_, Grissom thought to himself.

The stunned look on Sara's face as she turned back to stare at him made him realize that he had actually mumbled those words out loud. One shapely eyebrow reached for her hairline as a sly smile spread across her face.

"**What did you say?"**


End file.
